participating in broader conversations on topics like
sustainable development, climate change, and territorial
governance. As in any community, Kayapó peoples
have experimented with and embraced technological
advancements in ways that align with their values.

Some villages have televisions and computers, and some
Kayapó own cellphones. They sometimes record video of
celebrations and tribal rituals to share with each other,
neighboring villages, and future generations.

The Kayapó have worked with government andnongovernmental organizations to demarcate theirland. They also experimented with profit-sharing dealswith mining and logging companies and agriculturalinterests in the 1990s. But when enterprises threatenedthe environment on which the Kayapó depend forhunting, fishing, water, and agriculture, they terminatedagreements, and now actively work against these interestson their land.

“Their strategies for self-determination have been quite
remarkable,” Zanotti said.

It’s been a mostly successful story, and one that many
indigenous peoples cannot tell, as evidenced by the plane
ride over land cleared of once-lush forests where indigenous
peoples made their homes.

CLA students Justin Sullivan and Rosy Garibay stop for a lunch break during a three-hour hike to a waterfall in the rainforest. Photo by Adriano Jerozolimski.